Method of and means for separating water from heavy-oil emulsions.



C. W. McKlBBEN. METHOD 0F AND MEANS FOR SEPARATING WATER FROM HEAVY OIL EMULSIONS.

APPLICATION FILED OCTl 24. l9l8.

Patented Apr. 8,1919.

ITL/622257' CHARLES W. MGKBBEN, 0F HOUSTON, TEXAS.

METHOD 0F AND MEANS FOB SEPARATING WATER FROM HEAVY-OIL EMULSIONS.

Specification f Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

Application iiled October 24, 1918. Serial No. 259,506.

To all whom it may comm-fn:

Be it known that I, Cimnms W. MCKIB- BEN, a citizen of the. United States, residing at Houston, in the county of Harris and State ofl Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of and Means for Separating Oil Emulsions, of which thevfollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to a means for separating water emulsions.

One of method of and from heavy oil the objects of my invention is to reclaim oil -from heavy oil emulsions. In oil fields, Where large quantities of yoil or petroleum are stored in receiving tanks, there is always a great sions in the bottom of each tank, the accumu lation of many years in some instances, and well known among oil men as tank bottom. Oil is pumped from the Wells into these tanks and taken therefrom, from time to time, always leaving an ever increasing quantity of tank bottom or heavy emulsiied sludge in the bottoms of the tanks until this accumulation encroaches to an undesirable degree uponthe oil holding capacity of the tank, when this residue is then drawn from the tank and thrown away.

The tank bottom in most elds contains from 20 to 30 per cent. of goo-d oil, the recover voirwhich has heretofore been unattaina le by any process within a cost limit justified by the commercial v. lue of the reclaimed product.

My method of procedure, and the means employed, are concerned with the reclamation of this otherwise waste and worthless precipitate and other heavy emulsions and the conversion of allot` their attainable oil content into valuable marketable product at an expense that is not prohibitory.

In .carrying my inode of procedure into ef? ect, I place a given quantity of the tank bottom or other highly viscous substantially immobile emulsion in a tank, and preferably` maintain the quantity therein constant, regardless of the amount of purified oil and water thereafter discharged from the tank. I pump the contents ofthe tank from the tank through a treater, substantially such as disclosed in my Patent No. 127,687, granted August 20,1918, and within the path of this moving residue I 'place a means for heating it to a temperature approximately 385 degrees Fahrenheit. This high temperature is Water from Heavydeal of heavy emul- 4 ously repeated, so long as the centrifugal separatonor centrifuge,

.the quantity of permissible because the entire treatment is carried 'out in closed receptacles and conduits and the heated material by its own expansion produces a pressure of approximately 200 pounds per square inch.

The most eii'ective heater for the purpose,

I have found,"is an electric conductor of rela-` Y tively lhigh resistance, preferably in the form of a coil, to be submerged` directly in the -body ofthe liquidescent mass, energized by a current ferred, to reduce the electrolysis to the west limit. The edect of this manner of heating the mass is to quickly produce a liquidescent condition of the viscous and relatively immobile body, at which time of heating, steam is generated from the water globules that directly impinge on the heated surface afforded by the electric coil, causing their rupture and the consequent violent ebullition causes conversion of part of the oil c'ontent into a vapor or gas.

From the treater, the ilowing liquid and vapors or gases are passed through a condenser to reduce the gas to loil and to prevent the further evolution of the gas from the oil and to reduce the steam to free water. The separated liquids then flow back into the relatively large came. In' course of a short period of time the Water will lsettle to tank, into a settlin chamberprovided therebelow, from whic it may automatically be drawnroff by means shown and claimed in my Patent No. 1,27 6,386 granted August 20th, 1918. ,Y

This cycle of operation will be continuump is kept the in motion. To hasten subsi ence o water, the upper layers of liquids, within the tank, may coincidentally be carried-into a has a separating property -many times greater than gravity, from whence the oil is discharged divested of substantially all of the water with which it was previously so intimately associated.

Means may be provided for maintaining the quantity of sludge or heavy emulsion in tank, from whence theyV which of electricity, alternating prethe bottom of the the tank substantially constant, by pumping l the emulsion uniformly with the discharged separated The contents of the tank warm by the eiect of a heater This will hasten the precipitaand the solids held in meinto the tank water and oil.v may be kept of any sort.

tion of water,

them to settle the pump, at the time 'I anda low grade of oil heatin ried out.

'l 25 pipe 11, preferably direct electric heater 22,

45 emulsion is is further heated and the chanical suspension, 'when the centrifuge is not used. In any event I prefer to pass the associatedliquids several timesl through the described vcycle vof operation before leavlng in the tank by the effect o-f grav1ty.

The heat in the tank l also amplies the liquid state of its contents, mobile so that' it will more readily flow to when the process is about to be put into operation.

By ,using an internal combustion engine tricity necessary to produce the required carrying my-method of procedure into effect, may be.A developed at a very low cost.

` The drawing illustrates one form of a-pparatus whereln my invention may be car- In carryin my invention into effect, I 'may use a tan 10 into which vI pump a suitable quantity of the heavy emulsion ortank bottom from a suitable source through the from a storage tank or from a'well. I take the heavy emulsion or sludge material from the tank through a pipe12. -This pipe may have an opening, as at 13, through which the heavier l3Q precipitate will'liow and an openlng 14 into the liquid line 15, may be taken. A pump 16 carries the liquid into a treater 17 through a relatively large elbow into a vertical conduit 19' of the treater, from which it Hows into 21. An-

the chamber 20'within the casing consisting, preferably, of a coil of relatively high resistance wire, or

otherpoor conductor, is placed in the condu1t 19 and is connected to theseeondary of a low potential alternating transformer coil ,which is in inductive relation to a relatively high potential coil 24, energized by a suitable source of electric power. After the heated by the coil 22, it passes center electrode 25 and the inpipe or conduit 19, by which it globules of water polarized by the field induced therein by between the terior of the 25 .,may preferably be a as pipe about two "inches in diameter, whlgle the conduit 19, whl'ch is also anelectric conductor, may be a similar -plpe about six inches in diameter.

former 26 is'energized-bythe usual step transformer 31. f This feature of the apparatus 'and the treater 17,', as illustrated i5 herein` are fully explained, described and rendering it more,

as a fuel, the elecy'of the coils 44 claimed in my copending application, Serial filed August 17th, 1918. The liquid passes from the chamber 20 through the pipe 32, which has an'opening for gas and steam, as at 33, at the upper end of the treater, and another opening 34 below the liquid line 35 in the treater, into a coil 36, lwhich is surrounded by water 37 contained inl a suitable receptacle 38. Relatively cold water is allowed to flow into the receptacle 38, through a pipe 39, pumped or otherwise, and to How out through a pipe 40. The. fluids and coil 36, that are cooled by the water 37 are thereby condensed and converted into free Water and into oil, respectively. These liquids then flow into tank 10 in which, in the course of time, the water will gradually sink down intov the lwater chamber 41 and the oil will rise to the top and be contained as an upper strata, as at 42. Means for automatically discharging the precipitated water from-the chamber 41 is shown, as at 43, and consists substantially of the apparatus shown and described in my Patent N o. 1,276,386 dated August 20th, 1918.

Means for heating the liquid within the tank l0 maybe provided and ma consist and 45, heated by t e transformer y46. Now if the oil and water are continued to be forced to How through the system thus described, by the pump 16, the oil to become more and more purid by the separation of the water therefrom and the precipitated free water will congases passing through the stantly and automatically be discharged, as

it settles to the bottom of the through the apparatus 43. But if ess is desired to be hastened, so that the sep'- aration may be effected 'by means much more powerful than the effect'of gravity, and with greatercelerity, then thel centrifugal separator 50 may b'e lemployed. The oil will then pass from'the tank 10 through the pipe 52 into the float chamber 53 of the separator. The fioat in the chamber 53 maintains the oil in the rotatable bowl of the separator at a constant head. The vbowl is rotated by a pulley 54 at effect of'v the the purified oil to 'flow out of the pipe 54 and the water and other refuse to ow out of the pipe 55. Y

A great deal of the freed water will immediately descend in the bottom ofthe'tank 10, as the liquid is passed through the tank and will be discharged by the apparatus 43 at the bottom of the tank, but there is some of the water'that has beenl placed in a state by -tank 10,

' the electric treater which will separate in the courseof time, from the oil, by the effect of the high potential field through which it the proci tank 10, so that the water 'stress to the nascent chains somewhat greater than that' possessed by gravity, to hasten the subsidence, such as the centrifugal apparatus for eifecting the separation. 4 I therefore, may continue the operation of theprocess, by moving the liquid continuously through the practically all of the liquid has been so treated and then let it remain for awhile in the will gradually settle to the bottom and be automatically discharged therefrom periodically from time to time, or I mayincrease the apparatus and hasten 4the process by continuing the passage of the liquids through the paths described and coincidentally permit them to iiow into the centrifugal device to enforce subsidence of the water in much shorter time, by the more v positive means.

In the treater there is created an intense electric field, which polarizes the entrapped globulesA of Water and tends to form them into chains. There is applied a disturbing by the rapid movement of the liquids, which ruptures the oil envelops to some extent, and causes coalescence of the minute particles, or drops of water, into larger bodiesv of free water.` The water thus freed, would subsequently slowly gravitate to the bottom of. the liquid mass and ultimately become entirely disassociated from the purified' oil of the emulsion, by

gravitational subsidence, owing to the peculiar effect produced by the electric eld. This effect is intensiied by the'high temperature to which the oil and 'water have been subjected, rendering the separation much more effective and' converting, by condensation, the respective vapors, due to the heat, into their original constituents. This decreases the cohesive effect of the Water particles for the oil, causing ready Acoalescence thereof into larger bodies of free water and which does not become again entrapped in the oil filaments.

passed through My entire process is carried into eiect with the oilcompletely protectedA from-the atmosphere and the light of the sun. When oil lis therefore taken fresh into my system of purification, there are a number of gas -fractions that are condensed into useful oil that would otherwise escape from the oil and be lost. v

Inv many oil emulsions the water content does not carry suflicient salt to render them electrical conductors to a desirable extent. I have found that free salt water may be the treater with the emulsion to reduce its electrical resistance and to hasten the treatment of the emulsion.

In a system such as described, I may take salt water from the'bottom 41 of the tank 10, through the pipe 12 to the pipe 12 in quantities regulated by the valve 12,

paths described, until the capacity of automatically discharging Aoils to separate the water content by an intense from the well or salt claim is:

1. The art of'- treatingheavy emulsiiied oils to separate .the water content therefrom, lwhich consists in heating the emulsion to a vaporizing point; continuously passingl theliquid thereof through an intensiied electrical field after being heated; condensing the vapors and cooling the liquids below the vaporizing point and permitting subsidence of ber in Which the liquids are contained and the Water from the cbainber. Y

2. The art of treating oils to separate which consists in heating the emulsions to a temperature labove the boiling point of water; continuously passing the liquids thereof through an intensified electric-field, after being heated; condensing the vapors heavy emulstied and cooling the liquids below the Vaporizing point; permitting subsidence of the waterin a chamber in which the liquids are contained and automatically and perithe water content therefrom,

tlie water in a cham- :odically discharging. the precipitated water .from the chamber.

vaporizing point; and forcibly producing subsidence of the water by centrifugal effectV of lche associated liquids and separating the liquids.

4. The

a continuous process which consists in lheating the emulsion to a. temperature above the boiling point of water; passing successively portionsof the associated ,liquidsthrough electrified` field; condensing the resulting vapors and cooling the liquids so treated, and maintaining the moving-liquids art of treating heavy emulsified and vapors at a pressure above atmosphere -during the entire cycle of operation.

5. The art of treating every -emulsitied oil to separate the' water content by a continuous process', which consists in heating the emulsion to a temperature Iabove the boiling pointjof water; .passing successively.

portions of the associated liquids through an intense electrified field; condensing the resulting vapors and cooling the liquid so treated; maintaining the moving liquids and vapors at a pressure above atmosphere during the entire cycle of Aoperation and forcibly producing Yseparation of the liquids.

6. The art of treating heavyemulsied oil to separate thevvater content by a conyand vapors at a pressure above atmosphere tinuouslprocess, Whlch consists in heating" during the entire cycle 'of operation; rel the emulsion to a temperature above the ucing the pressure thereon and then forciboiling point of Water; passing' successively bly producing separation of the liquids. portions of the associated liquids through In testimony whereof I hereunto suban intense electrified field; condensing the scribe my name.

resulting vapors and cooling` the liquids so' treated; maintaining the moving' liquids CHARLES MCKIBBEN. 

